1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ring based games, particularly to ring games in which one or more rings are to be tossed onto one or more upstanding standards. The present invention further relates to ball rolling games in which one or more flat laying rings serve as a target.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Games for recreational entertainment that utilize cylindrical standards which serve as a target for tossed items are well known in the prior art. The best known game of this kind is "horseshoes". Horseshoes is played using real or simulated horseshoes which are tossed at an upstanding standard which is hammered partially into the ground. Horseshoes, while being an extremely exciting game, suffers from several very important disadvantages which have resulted in a plethora of alternative games being devised in the prior art. These disadvantages include: the heaviness of the horseshoes for young persons and persons having debilitation such as arthritis, the need to pound the standards (or stakes) into the ground which can be a difficult task for the aforesaid class of users, the potential for harm should a tossed horseshoe accidentally miss its mark and instead contact a fragile article or a bystander, and, finally but certainly not least, the game must be played outdoors on soil which, to the dismay of homeowners who love a manicured looking lawn, will become thoroughly torn-up due to repeated impacts of the horseshoes.
In the prior art, alternative solutions to the problems inherent with the apparatus used in horseshoes have more-or-less universally included rings which are lighter than the heavy horseshoe and which can add excitement by the participants trying to use skill to cause the ring to be caught by the standard.
There are several classes of ring toss games. A first class uses no standard at all; a second class uses at least one standard connected with a flat, stabilizing base; a third class uses at least one standard where the standard is alternatively connectable to a base or is driven into the ground; a fourth class incorporates at least one standard where the standard has horizontal projections; and finally a fifth class uses multiple standards connected upon a singlular base.
An example of the first class of games in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,682 to Brown, dated May 27, 1980, where a hole is used rather than a standard.
Examples of the second class of games are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,178,049 to Beardsley, dated Apr. 4, 1916; 1,616,236 to Schacht, dated Feb. 1, 1927; 2,009,625 to Knorpp, dated July 30, 1935; 2,080,489 to Knorpp, dated May 18, 1937; 3,356,531 to Pitar, dated Aug. 22, 1944; 2,506,932 to McAfee, dated May 9, 1950; and 3,802,704 to Genua, dated Apr. 9, 1974.
Examples of the third class of games, which are most similar to the first embodiment of the present invention, are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,230,503 to Miller, dated June 19, 1917; and 2,504,570 to Neilson, dated Apr. 18, 1950.
Examples of the fourth class of games are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,480,563 to Morgan, dated Jan. 15, 1924; 2,365,513 to Bartle et al, dated Dec. 19, 1944; 3,119,619 to Frank, dated Jan. 28, 1964; 4,132,410 to Montagna, dated Jan. 2, 1979; and 4,726,591 to Johnson, dated Feb. 23, 1988.
Finally, examples of the fifth class of games are U.S. Pat. Nos. 163,845 to Browne, dated June 1, 1875; 324,189 to Thomas, dated Aug. 11, 1885; 1,501,942 to Carmen, dated July 22, 1924; 1,595,527 to Schacht, dated Aug. 10, 1926; 1,705,501 to Sas, dated Mar. 19, 1929; 2,538,128 to Simmons, dated Jan. 16, 1951; 3,386,736 to Fong, dated June 4, 1968; and 4,129,298 dated Dec. 12, 1978.
Some overlapping in classes may occur among the examples listed above.
While a common thread exists among these prior art devices, the tossing of one or more rings (instead of heavy horseshoes) toward a target for purposes of gaining a highest score based upon accuracy of the toss, there still remains a need in the prior art to provide a ring toss game in which the game may be played indoors or outdoors, with the standard being easily convertible for either environment of use, and with the standard further being adjustable for both play and shipping.
Further to the discussion above, are a category of games in which one or more balls are rolled toward a target, the accuracy of the roll determining the score of the players. A common class of these is found in golf putting targets, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,190,657 to Johnson, dated June 22, 1965; 1,656,740 to Kurtz, dated Jan. 17, 1928; and 884,277 to Hughes, dated Apr. 7, 1908. Another class of these is found in games in which the ball is manipulated with a mallet or stick toward a particular target configuration, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,366,782 to Gorsuch, dated Jan. 9, 1945; 1,847,963 to Hix, dated Mar. 1, 1932; and 366,318 to Hughes, dated July 12, 1887. Finally, and most relevant to the second embodiment of the present invention, are ball games in which the balls are rolled by hand toss, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,451,680 to Poole, dated Oct. 22, 1968; and 3,231,278 to Boulanger, dated Jan. 25, 1966.
These ball rolling games, while entertaining, still do not provide the flexibility and depth of enjoyment that is possible with a target which has a selective number multiple components that are easily connected together.